Waking Up in Vegas
by Lola-2011
Summary: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? Well, not always.
1. Chapter 1

Waking Up in Vegas

Chapter: 1

Rating: PG

It was over. He was officially divorced. A single man. A bachelor. Most men would be happy, but he wasn't. He felt more like a widower than anything. He felt like he needed to mourn this part of his life in order to move on, to get past it. So he did the only thing he could think of. He took a leave of absence, packed his bag, and headed to Las Vegas.

And that was the exact reason Mary Richards was on a plane to Nevada. She hand been singled out and unanimously voted to be the one to go after him. She would be the first to admit that she didn't put up much of a fight when they chose her. After all he would probably be more gentle and more open with her. At least that's what she was hoping.

When she arrived at the hotel she sent her suitcases up with the bellboy and headed to the bar to find Lou. And sure enough there he was. He was sitting at the bar, nursing what looked to be a martini. She took a deep breath, said a silent prayer and approached him. "Since when do you drink martinis?"

He wasn't all that surprised to see her. "Since I'm in this classy atmosphere. What took you so long to get here?" he asked. "I was expecting one of you to show up hours ago."

Mary sat down on the bar stool. "Well we had to vote on how was going to come."

"Vote?" he took a sip of his drink. "Something tells me you were volunteered more or less."

"Well someone had to come." she said. "It might as well have been me."

"That's a good attitude to have." he sighed. "Now here's the part where I thank you for coming, tell you how sweet you are, and send you back to Minneapolis on the next plane."

"That's where you're wrong." she said. "I'm not leaving until you agree to come back home with me."

He finished off his martini. "Well you're going to be here a while." he said. "Because I have no plans to leave."

"Fine." she shrugged. "But as long as you're going to be here, so am I."

"Look, Mary." he turned to face her. "I know why you're here, but I don't want to talk about it, that's why I'm here."

"I think you would feel better if you talked about it, Mr. Grant."

"No, thanks."

Mary was slightly annoyed. "Look, I flew all the way out here to get you. The plane had horrible turbulence, awful food, and I had to sit beside a mother with a crying baby. Now if you want to stay here, that's fine. But I'm going to stay here with you, nagging you until you talk to me so you might as well just give in now."

Lou was quiet for several long moments. "Okay." he finally said. "But under one condition."

"Okay."

He summoned the bartender over. "Could you bring me three martinis for the lady and another one for me?" he asked. "We're going to move over to the table in the corner."

"Three martinis?"

"Yeah." he said, getting up. "If we're going to talk then I want to make sure we're on the same level. You want this to be fair, don't you, Mary?"

"Fine." she agreed, following him. "If you think that makes us even."

"Oh no, not even." he sat down. "But close."

Mary slide into the booth. "Are you really going to talk to me?" she asked. "I mean really talk to me about what's going on with you?"

"After you finish off your martinis." he said. "And you have to drink them nice and slow in order to have the right effect. Don't think of chugging them."

"Farthest thing from my mind." she assured him. "But after I fully expect you to talk to me, I'm going to hold you to it."

"I'll give you my word."

Mary had the first three martinis and then an additional two. And Lou opened up to her, just like he had promised. He told of about his fears and his failures and his disappointments. He told her how much he liked marriage and how he hated being alone. She did her best to comfort him, to reassure him, and to encourage him. This lead to more drinking. And an exploration of the casino.

It was almost midnight when Lou decided that he wanted to gamble. Blackjack was his pick and so far he was doing pretty well. "Let's play a little game." he told her. "If I win this next round then dinner is on you."

"Deal." she smiled. She didn't know rather it was the ambiance or the alcohol but she had never been more relaxed. Especially with him. "And if you lose?"

"I'll give you a raise."

"How much?"

Lou thought about it for a moment. "Twenty five bucks a week."

"Deal."

The dealer flipped the cards. "Blackjack."

Lou exhaled heavily. "Well, I guess you can't win them all." he said. "That was my last chip. What do you want to do now?"

"Are you really going to give me a raise?"

"Of course." he told her. "I'm a man of my word. Now, what should we do for the rest of the evening."

"I don't know." she replied. "Something fun and exciting, something we wouldn't normal do if we were at home in Minneapolis."

"Strip club?"

"I was afraid you were going to say that."

"Okay, okay." he said, in defeat. "We could gamble some more or maybe get a tattoo. We could have dinner, see a show."

"Oh, lets see a show." she smiled. "Something elaborate and tacky."

Lou wrapped his arm around her waist. "I know just the place."

~The Next Afternoon~

It was quickly approaching two o'clock in the afternoon. But if you didn't crash until four o'clock that morning it was night time. The room was completely silent until the shrill ringing of the telephone pierced the silence. And then it happened. Two sets of eyes opened, looked at each other, and promptly screamed. And the telephone was quickly forgotten.

Mary immediately sat up in bed, hugging the sheet as close to her body as she possible could. "What the hell?" she said, her head spinning. "What are you doing in here?"

"What do you mean what am I doing in here?" he asked. "This is my room."

Her mind was reeling. And she couldn't seem to remember much of the previous evenings events. "What happened?" she asked. "What did we do last night?"

"Uhh, I'm not sure." he replied. "We had some drinks, we did some gambling, and after that everything gets blurry."

"You remember more than I do." Mary started to get up and out of bed, but quickly noticed that she didn't have anything on underneath the sheet. She took a deep breath before she asked the question she already knew the answer to. "Are you naked?"

He pulled the comforter up around his waist. "You too, huh?"

"Oh, God." she breathed out, closing her eyes. "This is a nightmare."

"You could do a lot worse." he said, trying to get his bearings. "Look just because we're both naked and in bed together doesn't mean that anything happened."

Mary wrapped the sheet around her body and got up out of the bed. "I have the worse headache of my life." she said. "And I have no idea rather or not I slept with my boss. This really is a nightmare."

"Just relax, Mary." he said. "There's no reason to get upset."

She picked up a piece of paper off the dresser. She was so in shock that she had to read over it several times before it began to sink in. And even then she couldn't even breathe.

"What's the matter?"

Mary walked over to the bed and handed him the paper. "There's no reason to get upset?"

Lou read over the paper. "Okay." he said. "Now you can be upset."

"Oh, Mr. Grant." she exhaled heavily. "What do we do now."

"Well, I think we should start by taking a few deep breaths." he instructed. "And you should probably start calling me Lou. After all we are husband and wife now."

Lou laughed at the irony of the situation and Mary burst into tears.

tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

Waking Up in Vegas

Chapter: 2

Rating: PG

Mary was still wrapped in the white sheet. The crying had subsided and she was wiping at her smeared eye makeup with a tissue Lou had given her. Maybe the situation wouldn't be so bad if she could get the pounding in her head to stop. It only added to the confusion of everything. She was hung over and crying, not quite the way she envisioned things to be when she was a new bride.

Lou, now dressed in a robe, sat down next to her on the bed. "It's gonna be okay." he tried to soothe her. "I know the situation isn't ideal, but it's not the end of the world."

"I know and I'm sorry." she apologized. "It's just that I don't normally lose control like this."

"And you think I do?" he asked. "I may occasionally come in hung over, but I certainly don't fly to Las Vegas and marry my associate producer."

"What are we going to do?"

"We can probably get this whole thing annulled." he said. "I mean we were both drunk, there's no way the marriage is binding. You know even if it was..."

"Consummated." she finished for him. "Which takes us right back to where we started. I don't remember much of what happened last night."

"Yeah, me either." he replied. "What's the last thing that you remember?"

"You promised me a raise if you lost at blackjack." she said. "Twenty five dollars a week."

"Of course you remember that." he said. "I remember something about a really bad Elvis impersonator."

"Yeah, he's probably who married us."

"Other than that, I don't remember anything."

Mary sighed. "Well, do you think we did..."

"Given the evidence I'm going to say yes." he replied. "Which leads me to another rather personal question."

"Yes." she replied. "If we did then there's nothing to worry about there."

"Okay." he breathed out. "At least that's one worry off our minds. Now maybe we can find a way to get out of this."

She leaned over and opened the night stand drawer. "We need legal advice." she laid the bible on top the night stand and took out the phonebook. "I'm sure there are tons of lawyers who will help us get an annulment."

Lou took the phonebook from her. "I'll take care of it." he said. "After all this is my fault."

"It takes two to get married." she told him. "I'm equally as responsible."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" he asked, softly. "I don't think I've ever seen you so upset."

Mary had tried to gather herself the very best she could. "I'll be fine." she said. "I'm just in shock, that's all."

"Why don't you go take a nice hot shower." he suggested. "I'll find an attorney and then I'll go over to your room and get your bags."

"Okay." she agreed. "Thanks."

"It's gonna be okay, Mary."

"I know." she sighed, getting up off the bed. "I just wish I could remember more of what happened."

"So do I." he agreed. "Maybe one day we can look back at this and laugh."

She kind of smiled. "I hope so."

Mary closed her eyes as the hot water hit her face. And after a few minutes she could feel some of the stress starting to melt away. She was starting to relax. And maybe she if she relaxed some of the previous evenings events would come back to her. Either way they were married now and they were facing the challenge of how to get out of it.

_They toasted with expensive champagne. One glass down and then another. Lou grabbed the bottle, taking it up in the elevator with them._

_He unzipped her skirt and it fell to the floor in a heap. He pulled her toward him, his hands firmly on her waist. He inched his way onto the bed, guiding her over top of him. Her mouth hungrily covered his._

And that's where her memory failed her. Everything else was still incredibly blurry. She exhaled heavily, trying to let go of her thoughts and clear her mind completely. Hopefully their marriage could quickly be annulled and things would be able to return to normal. At least as close to normal as you can get after you've married your boss in a drunken stupor.

Mary wrapped herself in the plush hotel robe and towel dried her hair the best she could. She exited the bathroom to find Lou on the phone. She sat down on the couch and waited for him to finish his conversation with the attorney. He hung up the phone. "We have an appointment at four o'clock." he told her. "Feeling better?"

"A little." she replied. "I remembered coming up here last night with champagne."

"Yeah?" he asked. "Do you remember anything else?"

"Just some kissing." she told him. "Once we got to the bed everything gets fuzzy."

Lou nodded. "Look, Mary, I'm sorry." he apologized. "This entire thing is my fault. I'm taking full responsibility for everything. You have nothing to feel bad about."

"I told you before it's not just your fault." she assured him. "I'm just as responsible as you are. And it's not about marrying you, it's about not being able to remember anything."

"Well you remembered a little." he said. "Maybe in time you'll remember a little more."

Mary's resolve had started to crack again and she was starting to cry. "I don't think remembering really matters at this point." she replied. "I mean it really isn't going to change anything. We can't undo it."

"No, but sometimes knowing helps ease your mind." he reached for her hand. "It's going to be okay." he tried to comfort her. "We're going to have this whole thing taken care of and nobody will ever have to know what happened."

She wiped at her tears. "And what if we can't get an annulment?"

"Then we'll get a quickie divorce." he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to him. "Either way when we leave Las Vegas we will no longer be man and wife."

Mary rested her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, but we'll always know."

"Yeah well that's the trade off." he gently rubbed her back. "It's a secret you'll have to take to your grave. No one will ever know that you were once Mrs. Lou Grant."

She laughed. "Now how am I ever going to be able to keep that to myself?"

"You'll just have to find a way to live with it."

"I know I've been acting like this is the end of the world, but it isn't." she said, pulling back to look at him. "It's just that when I dreamt of getting married as a little girl this just isn't quite the way I pictured it."

"You dreamt of a fairytale wedding complete with prince charming." he said "I understand that and one day you'll have it. Until then just think of this as a practice run."

"I'm just glad it was you and not someone else."

"Yeah." he breathed out. "I mean if the circumstances were different you could be Mrs. Ted Baxter right now."

"That really would be a nightmare."

Lou wiped at her fallen tears. "And there's your silver lining."

Mary smiled. "You're a great guy, Lou Grant."

"I know." he smiled back. "It's going to be hard for husband number two to top me."

Something between them shifted. For some reason they seemed to be gravitating toward each other. They were moving closer and closer together, their lips only inches apart. As he leaned in to close in the space between them her lips slightly parted in anticipation. Just as their lips were about to touch the shrill ringing of a telephone cut through the room.

tbc...


	3. Chapter 3

Waking Up in Vegas

Chapter: 3

Rating: PG-13

Mary was the first to pull away. "You should probably get that."

"Yeah." he breathed out. "Might be important." he got up and crossed the room to silence loud ringing. "Hello?" he answered. "Yeah...yeah...when? Uh, huh...yeah. I see...no. Yeah she's here...okay. We'll leave right away." he hung up the phone.

"Something wrong?"

"It's Ted." he replied. "He had a heart attack."

"Oh my God." she breathed out."Is he okay?"

"They're not sure." he told her. "He's in surgery right now. Apparently it happened while he was on the air."

"That's terrible." she got up and walked toward him. "I'll call and see if we can get a flight out."

"No, I'll take care of it." he volunteered. "You just go get dressed and ready to go. I'll take care of everything else."

"Okay." she started for the bathroom, but turned back around. "Hey, are you okay?"

Lou nodded. "Just a little shocked." he said. "Kind of makes our predicament here seem trivial, you know? In the grand scheme of things, I mean."

"Yeah, really puts things into perspective." she agreed. "You do think he's going to be okay, don't you?"

"Ted?" he questioned. "Yeah, he'll be just fine. He has to be."

"I hope you're right."

"So do I." he sighed. "So do I."

The plane ride seemed to be taking forever. Lou booked them on the very first flight he could get. They ate dinner as they waited and tried to make light conversation, but all they could focus on was either Ted or their marriage. And neither one of them wanted to bring those two things up in conversation. So now on the plane they sat together in silence, Mary staring out the window and Lou sipping on a scotch.

He had been watching her for the past few minutes. She seemed lost in her thoughts and he didn't quite know how to reach out to her. He didn't know what she was thinking or feeling. And he didn't want to complicate things more than they already were. It was when he saw her close her eyes and a few tears trickle down her face that he knew he had to do something.

"You know I hate to see a new bride cry." he said, softly. "Especially mine."

She smiled briefly as she turned to look at him. "Sorry, I was just thinking about Ted."

Lou took his handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Yeah, me too." he said. "Was that all you were thinking about?"

"Yes." she wiped her eyes. "Why, what were you thinking about?"

"Ted." he replied. "And our marriage. We'll have to find another attorney when we get to Minneapolis."

"I think the attorney can wait." she said. "Ted and everything that's going to have to be rearranged at the station will have to come first."

"Looking for excuses to stay married to me?" he joked, he wanted to lighten the mood as much as he possibly could. "Because I'm starting to think you like being Mrs. Lou Grant."

Mary laughed a little. "It just doesn't seem as urgent now."

"Yeah." he agreed. "Ted's a gigantic pain in the ass, but he has to make it through this. I can't imagine never fighting with him again over painting his dressing room or wanting a raise or because he mispronounced something on the air."

Her hand covered his. "Hopefully the two of you will be doing all those things in no time at all."

The warmth of her hand over his gave him more comfort than he could ever be able to tell her. He wasn't the kind of man that could admit fear easily. He wasn't the kind of man that could always openly show the way he felt. In that moment he felt something different for her, different than colleague and friend. "And you'll be back to refereeing our matches."

"I just hope Georgette's okay." she said. "She's so loving and kind and sweet, but I don't know how well she'll handle the stress of the situation."

"Love strengthens you in ways you'd never expect." he told her. "I'm sure she's right there by his side and will be every step of the way. Ted's lucky to have such a devoted woman by his side. I don't know how he ever got so lucky."

Mary reached for his drink. "I think everyone deserves love and happiness."

"And I agree one hundred percent." he said. "But what Ted has in Georgette is someone who adores him, someone who worships him."

She took a sip and handed it back to him. "You don't want someone to worship you?"

"Nah." he sighed. "I would much rather have someone as my equal, someone who I respect and who respects me back. Someone I could grow older with. Not that what Ted has with Georgette isn't nice, it just doesn't seem fulfilling to me. But then again I'm not Ted."

"I think what they have is kind of special."

"Yeah, kind of innocent in a way." he agreed. "I just hope everything works out."

The scene at the hospital was a grim one. There was almost complete silence between everyone. Murray, Georgette, Rhoda, Phyllis, Lou, Mary, they all just sat sipping coffee and flipping through magazines. Occasionally someone would attempt to make small talk. Ted was in recovery when they first arrived and then was moved to a private room. He was pale and look so fragile. Machines and tubes and IVs were everywhere. He was a million miles away from the carefree, on top of the world Ted that was always smiling.

After several hours of what felt like torture Mary and Lou left the hospital and headed back to her apartment. The entire car ride was in silence as well. Mary slipped off her coat and hung it up on the coatrack. She couldn't seem to get the image of Ted laying in that hospital bed out of her mind.

Lou walked through the door with her bags. "Where do you want these?"

"Just sit them down somewhere." she walked down the few steps and into the livingroom. "Want a drink?"

He sat them down by the coatrack. "No thanks." he replied. "I'm going to be up all night as it is anyway."

Mary sat down on the sofa. "Do you think he's going to be okay?"

Lou sat down next to her. "The doctor said that the odds are good." he replied. "He just has a long road of recovery ahead of him."

"Yeah, I know." she said. "But I'm asking you if you really think he's going to be okay."

"I don't know." he said, looking into her eyes. "I wish I could say yes, but I just don't know. He looked so small and weak laying there."

Mary leaned back on the sofa. "Yeah." she breathed out. "I don't think I've ever been so exhausted in my entire life."

"Why don't you get some sleep."

"I don't think I could sleep even if I wanted to." she said. "There's too much on my mind."

"Just try to relax."

"I'm trying."

Lou got up off the sofa. "I guess I'll go home and try to get a little sleep." he said. "You try to do the same, okay."

Mary nodded. "I'll try."

He started for the door. "Goodnight, Mary." he said. "I'll call you in the morning."

"Hey, Lou." she said softly. It was the first time she ever really felt comfortable calling him by his first name. And yet it had nothing to do with the fact that they were temporarily married.

He turned around to face her. "Yeah?"

"I really don't want to be alone tonight." she told him. "Will you stay with me?"

He was a little caught off guard by her request, but in the grand scheme of things it wasn't unreasonable. "Sure." he replied. "I'll stay."

tbc...


	4. Chapter 4

Waking Up in Vegas

Chapter: 4

Rating: PG

Lou had gotten the suitcase out of his car and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. It had been an eventful twenty four hours to say the least. So much had happened and he was absolutely overwhelmed. And positively exhausted. At first he was a little surprised when Mary asked him to stay, but then again if you can't count on your friends to get you through difficult situations who can you count on?

And that's what they were. Friends. And colleagues. And temporarily they were man and wife. When they had woken up hung over and married they went through an array of emotions. But nothing compared to the last few hours of being at the hospital while Ted had bypass surgery. There was nothing like a brush with death, even if it wasn't your own, to remind you how precious life really was.

He came out of the bathroom to find Mary already in bed and sound asleep. He climbed into bed on the opposite side and turned off the lamp. Within moments of his head hitting the pillow he was asleep as well. Hopefully tomorrow would be a better day. At least one with no major hiccups and some good news about Ted.

The early morning sunlight had started to creep into the apartment and the brightness woke Mary. She was so exhausted last night that she didn't even remember going to bed. But somehow she had managed to end up in Lou's arms, her head resting on his shoulder. Unlike the previous morning when she woke up next to him, she felt safe and comforted. So much so that she hated to get up. But she had to. Someone needed to close the curtains because she needed at least three more hours sleep before she could face the day. And she was sure that Lou did too.

Mary forced herself out from underneath the blankets and his warm embrace. With a few tugs the heavy curtains closed and the room darkened once again. She climbed back into the warmth of the bed, but this time remained on her side of the bed. A few hours later though she awoke in the same position as before as though she had gravitated there by some magnetic force. Lou had his arm wrapped around her, his hand resting on the small of her back.

"What time is it?" she asked, groggily.

Lou glanced at his watch. "Almost ten."

She seemed to be perfectly content in his arms because she never attempted to move. "I thought someone would have about Ted by now." she said. "You don't think anything's wrong do you?"

"No news is good news." he assured her. "You want to go down to the hospital later? Maybe we can relieve Georgette for a little while."

"I think that would be a good idea." she said. "I'm sure she's exhausted."

"Are you hungry?"

"A little." she replied. "You want me to make breakfast?"

It was strange, yet very comfortable. They were laying in bed together discussing breakfast like they had been together for years. And they weren't even together. Sure they were married and sure she asked him to stay with her. But they were just friends. Friends in a odd situation. "No, I'll make it."

Mary sat up in bed. "How sweet." she turned to look at him. "I just have one request."

"What's that?"

"Please don't put beer in the eggs this time."

"No beer." he smiled. "I promise."

After breakfast Lou changed into his clothes from the night before. He came out of the bathroom to find Mary closing the sofa bed. "What time should I come back and get you?"

She started putting the cushions back on the sofa. "I could just meet you there."

"There's no sense in both of us driving." he said. "Why don't I come by and pick you up in about two hours? Does that give you enough time?"

"Plenty." she replied, walking up to where he was. "I just need to shower and unpack."

"Yeah, me too." he breathed out. "I need to shave."

"I don't know, I find the stubble kind of...sexy."

"Hmm." he sighed. "I've always taken you for the type of girl that prefers the clean shaven type."

"Well, I don't have a type."

"You must, you married me." he said. "You usually don't enter into something as serious as marriage with someone that isn't your type."

Mary smiled. "Yeah, well, you got me drunk first so I don't think that really counts."

It was happening again. They were gravitating toward each other. And neither one of them could figure out why. "See, I think was the other way around." he smiled. "I think you got me drunk and then married me. I think it was your plan all along."

"You caught me." she said. "Thanks for staying with me last night, Lou."

"Anytime." he brushed her hair back out of her face. "Everything's going to be alright. You'll see it's going to work out just fine."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

"Good, I want you to." Lou leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. The roughness of his five o'clock shadow lightly scratched against her face. They were close, too close. He didn't mean for it to be anymore than a gesture of comfort. He attempted to pull back but instead found himself inching toward her. Mary leaned back against the door for support as his lips softly touched against hers. Her lips parted beneath his and just as he was about to deepen their kiss ringing in the distance filled the room. Saved by the bell. Again.

Mary pulled away and made her way to the telephone.

"Damn." Lou swore under his breath.

"Hello?" she said. "Yeah, I've been up for a while. I'll come up there. Okay I'll see you in a few minutes." she hung up the telephone. "It was Rhoda."

Now there was an awkwardness in the air. One that hadn't been there even when they were sleeping in same bed all cuddled up. It was as if something was changing.

Lou nodded. "I'll see you in a few hours."

xxxxx

Mary knocked on Rhoda's apartment door and waited for her to answer. She wanted to talk to her about Ted, but she also wanted to tell her about her Vegas wedding. She needed to talk things over with her best friend.

"Hiya, kid." Rhoda opened the door. "Still in your pyjamas?"

"Yeah, I haven't showered yet." she came inside the apartment and closed the door. "Have you heard anything about Ted yet?"

"No, not yet." she sat down at the table. "You want a cup of coffee?"

She sat down across from Rhoda. "No thanks."

"Are you alright?" she asked. "I mean I know you're a little shaken about Ted, I mean we all are, but something seems a little off."

Mary half laughed, half sighed. "I did something really stupid."

"Oh, yeah?" she arched a defined eyebrow. "What did you do? Get married by Elvis in Las Vegas?"

She was stunned. "How did you know?"

Rhoda laughed. "Seriously, Mare, what did you do?"

"I got married by Elvis in Las Vegas."

She noticed the serious look on her friend's face. "Oh my God." she breathed out. "You're serious, aren't you? You really did get married in Vegas."

"Yes." she replied. "I really did."

"Please tell me you married Lou and not some stranger."

Mary simply nodded. "We were having a really good time." she said. "We were drinking and gambling and things just got out of control."

"I would say so." she agreed. "What are the two of you going to do?"

"We're going to get an annulment." she told her. "We were waiting for a meeting with an attorney when Murray called about Ted's heart attack. So we took the first flight back to Minneapolis. We'll have to find a different attorney here."

"Wow." Rhoda breathed out. "You married your boss in Las Vegas."

"Yeah and the sad thing is I don't even remember most of what happened."

"What do you remember?"

"Just bits and pieces." she replied. "I remember drinking and gambling, but everything else is kid of a blur until we woke up together yesterday morning."

"Did the two of you..."

"I think so." she replied. "Neither one of us can remember."

Rhoda couldn't help but laugh. "I think your wedding night is suppose to be memorable." she said and then immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, I know that this must be an awkward situation. You went to Las Vegas to cheer Lou up and bring him back to Minneapolis and now the two of you are married. How do you feel about all this?"

"Well I thought it was one big nightmare until we got the call about Ted." she told her friend. "I thought it was an absolute disaster, the worst thing that's ever happened to me."

"And now?"

"And now that the shock has passed I think it's going to be okay." she said. "We'll just get an annulment and everything will be fine. I mean it's not the end of the world."

"It will be." she assured her. "The two of you are reasonable adults and you'll be able to work things out quickly. Hell maybe the two of you will fall in love and stay married."

tbc...

Feedback is welcomed and appreciated :) Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

Waking Up in Vegas

Chapter: 5

Rating: PG

Lou picked Mary up at her apartment and they headed over to the hospital to check on Ted. When they arrived they found Georgette sitting at Ted's beside, holding his hand. The entire scene was a grim one. Ted had yet to regain consciousness and Georgette was holding vigil. Mary stopped at the threshold of the door and turned to face Lou. "I don't think I can go in there." she told him. "I'm not very good at things like this."

He reached for her hand. "You're not alone, I'll be with you." he said. "That's one of the good things about being married, even if it is temporary."

His words were comforting and his touch even more so. Mary stepped into the room, never letting go of his hand. They made their way over to the end of the bed. "Hi, Georgette." she smiled, warmly. "How's Ted doing?"

"The doctor said his vitals are strong, but he hasn't woken up yet." she turned to look at them. "They seem very hopeful though."

Lou nodded. "That's good news." he said. "Mary and I thought maybe we could sit with Ted while you took a break."

"Oh, I don't know." Georgette breathed out. "I don't think I could leave him. What if he woke up and I wasn't here?"

"We would call you first thing." he told her. "I think you owe it to Ted and to yourself to take a little breather. You could go home and take a shower, maybe take a little nap."

Georgette thought about it for a few seconds. "I still don't think I could leave him."

Mary let go of Lou's hand and took a few steps toward Georgette. "Mr. Grant and I will stay here with Ted the entire time." she promised her. "We'll call you right away if anything changes. I think Ted would want you to take care of yourself too. When he wakes up he's going to need you, so you want to make sure that you've rested and eaten."

She nodded. "Okay, I'll go." she agreed. "I'll do it for Ted."

"You want me to drive you?" Lou offered.

"No, thank you." she replied. "I only live a few blocks away, I think I can manage. Do you think I can have a moment alone with him before I leave?"

Mary nodded. "Sure." she said. "We'll just step outside in the hallway."

Lou led the way and closed the door being them. "You did great in there." he said. "You got her to agree to take a break."

"I think it's important that she has one." she said. "I know that she doesn't want to leave his side, but she'll come back feeling so much better."

Georgette came out of Ted's room. "I'll be back soon." she said. "Thanks for staying with him."

Mary smiled. "He'll be just fine."

"Yeah, we'll be right here when you get back." Lou assured her. "You just take as much time as you need."

Georgette smiled a bit. "I will." she said. "You'll call if anything changes?"

Lou nodded. "I promise."

They watched as she walked toward the elevator. "I feel so bad for her." Mary said. "I can't imagine being in her shoes. I don't know if I could hold it together as well."

"Oh, I don't know." he breathed out. "You seem to do pretty well in a crisis. I mean once you absorbed the shock of being married to me I think things have gone pretty well."

"That's a special exception." she smiled. "Besides I wouldn't call our situation a crisis by any means."

"Be careful, Mary." he said. "I'm starting to believe that you don't mind being married to me."

She smiled. "I can think of worse things." she pushed open the door and went into Ted's room. "You want to play cards?"

He followed behind her. "Sure." he said. "How about a game of gin?"

Over the course of the next few hours they played gin and poker and even go fish. Several doctors and nurses had been in and out checking on Ted's condition. They gave good reports each time, leaving both Mary and Lou feeling hopeful. Mary got up out of the chair and sat down on the equally uncomfortable love seat.

"I think I'll go get us some snacks." he said, getting up. "Do you have any special requests?"

"You know what I like." she said. "Surprise me."

"Are you going to be okay here?"

"Yeah." she looked over at Ted. "I'll be fine."

He returned about fifteen minutes later with some coffee and donuts. He sat them down on the table where they had been playing cards. "They had those raspberry filled ones that you like so much." he took one out of the bag and handed it to her. "How's that for a surprise?"

"Perfect." she bit into the donut. "This will do for now, but when Georgette comes back you owe me dinner. A really good dinner."

He sat down beside her."Well that just depends."

"Yeah?" she questioned, taking another bite. "On what?"

Lou reached for his cup of coffee and took a sip. "What do I get in return?"

"A happy wife." she smiled. "Why what did you have in mind? Angling for another invitation to spend the night?"

Lou laughed. "No." he replied. "A happy wife is good."

"I think so too." she agreed. "Besides with the way my love life is going you may be my only husband and I want to make the best of it."

"You'll meet Mr. Right." he assured her, placing the cup back on the table. "You just have to be patient."

"My patience is wearing thin." she told him. "I'm starting to think that prince charming doesn't exist."

"Sure he does." Lou smiled. "But you're looking for the fairytale version of him, you need to take those qualities and insert them into a real man."

"Like you?" she immediately asked and didn't know why.

"Maybe someone like me, yes." he replied. "If you're waiting on tall, dark, and handsome he may never come."

Mary nodded. "I suppose I could compromise." she said. "After all true love is blind."

"So I've heard." he agreed. "Now, where would my lovely wife like to go for dinner? Someplace fancy? Someplace dimly lit and romantic?"

"I would certainly hope so." she said. "We've only been married two days, it would be awful to let the romance die so soon."

"Your wish is my command, Mrs. Grant." he smiled. "If you want to be wined and dined then far be it from me to keep you from your dreams."

"You are a romantic."

"I've always thought so." he replied. "We'll get all dressed up, it'll be fun. Maybe it will help take our minds off of everything."

Mary looked over at Ted. "Yeah." she breathed out. "Hopefully we'll have good news by then. I hate seeing Ted like this."

Lou wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "So do I." he said, softly. "It really makes you appreciate life. Even the simple little things."

"Like just sitting here talking over coffee and donuts." she rested her head on his shoulder. "It also makes your biggest problems seem silly."

Lou smiled. "Yeah." he agreed. "Like marrying your associate producer in Las Vegas."

"What are we going to do about our marriage?"

Their marriage. It was such an odd statement of fact. Up until this point whenever they referred to their situation they rarely used the word marriage. But that's what it was. Sure they had talked about it and even joked about their situation. It was still every much an issue that they had to face. They were married. They were husband and wife. They signed the papers, they said I do, and they probably even consummated their union. Yet one serious conversation had yet to take place since they left the scene of the crime.

"I guess we'll go visit a lawyer on Monday." he said. "It shouldn't take that long for the annulment to go through. A couple weeks, a month at the most. Then you'll be a single woman once again."

"And you'll still be divorced from Edie."

"Yeah." he sighed. "But I think it'll be okay. I mean I'm not going to be in a rush to get married again. I think two wives in the span of a month is my limit."

Mary lifted her head to look at him. "I think you should start dating." she suggested. "You'd make a great catch for someone."

"I'm not worried about being caught." he said. "I just want to enjoy being by myself for a while."

"It's not so bad." she said, putting her head back down on his shoulder. "You may even learn to like it."

"Maybe." he sighed. "I just know that I'm not ready to date just yet."

"Just take your time." she replied. "You'll know when it's right."

"Yeah." Lou agreed. "Maybe after dinner we could see a movie."

"How can I possibly turn that down?"

"It's impossible."

The hospital door opened and Georgette came in, looking refreshed and rested. "Hi." she said, softly. "You guys were right, I feel much better."

Mary smiled. "Good." she said, standing up. "Did you eat?"

"Yes." she replied. "I showered and changed and even took a little nap. I feel energized again. I didn't know how drained I was until I got home."

Lou stood up. "Georgette, if you want to stay at home tonight, I'll come back and stay with Ted." he offered. "Mary and I are going to dinner and maybe a movie, but I don't mind coming back."

"Thanks, Lou." she said. "But I really want to be here with him. And Murray just got here, he went to get some coffee. He's going to keep me company for a while."

"Is there anything we can get you, Georgette?" Mary asked. "Anything at all?"

Georgette smiled. "No thank you." she said. "The two of you were really sweet staying here with Ted."

"If you need us we're only a phone call away." Lou told her. "We'll be back tomorrow. Call if anything changes."

"Day or night, it doesn't matter." Mary added. "We'll come right over."

They left Ted's hospital room and headed for the elevator. They stopped and briefly chatted with Murray before continuing on their way. The ride down from the sixth floor was a slow one. Or maybe it was just because they were the only two on the elevator. "Did you decide what you want to do for dinner?"

"I was thinking Italian."

"Sounds good." he said. "I'll pick the movie."

"I'm really not in the mood for violence and death, Lou"

"Me either." he agreed. "I'll take you to see that new Robert Redford movie."

"The Way We Were?"

"Yeah." he said. "I know it's sappy and romantic, but I know it'll make you happy."

"You are the perfect husband."

Lou smiled. "I know."

tbc...

Feedback is not only welcomed but appreciated :)


	6. Chapter 6

Waking Up in Vegas

Chapter: 6

Rating: PG

The elevator doors opened on the sixth floor revealing Mary and Lou, who were dressed for dinner. Him in a black suit and her in a red cocktail dress. They were just about to leave her apartment for the restaurant when Rhoda called and told them that Ted had woken up. They abandoned their plans and headed straight back to the hospital. Rhoda was waiting for them.

Mary stepped off the elevator. "Something happen?" she asked her friend. "Is Ted alright?"

"Yeah, Mare, Ted's fine." she replied. "The doctor checked him over and everything looks really good."

Lou placed his hand on Mary's back. A comforting gesture or so he thought. Little did he knew that his hand felt hot against her even through the fabric of her dress. "That's great." he said. "Can we see him?"

Rhoda nodded. "Georgette and Murray are in there with him now." she said, "But I thought that I should give the two of you a heads up before you go in."

"Heads up?" he asked, his hand gently rubbing up and down Mary's back. "Why?"

"When the two of you were here earlier were you talking about your situation?" she asked. "You know your impromptu marriage?"

Mary looked over at Lou. "Yes." she said. "But Ted was still under."

"Well apparently he heard you anyway." Rhoda replied. "He's in there trying to convince everyone that the two of you are married."

"Yeah, how's that going?" Lou asked.

"Everyone thinks he's nuts." she said. "Which you can use to your advantage if you like. Maybe the two of you can go in there and calm him down. He'll believe you no matter what you say."

"Well, Mary, what do you think we should do?" he asked. "I don't want to Ted to be stressed out."

Mary nodded. "I guess we tell the truth." she said. "Ted's awake and on the road to recovery and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Are you okay with everyone knowing?" he asked. "I mean I promised you I would get this whole thing taken care of and that no one would ever have to know about our drunken nuptials."

"I'm okay with it if you are. Besides I think it's too late now." she replied. "I think it will be quicker and easier if we just tell Ted the truth, Lou."

He nodded in agreement. "Okay." he breathed out. "I'll tell him."

The three of them started for Ted's hospital room and just as the reached the doors, Rhoda grabbed Mary by the hand. "Hey, wait." she said. "I want to talk to you for a minute. Alone."

Rhoda and Mary stayed behind as Lou made his way into the room. "So what's going on, Mary?" she asked her. "Did something happen between the two of you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Something seems different between the two of you." Rhoda said. "And you called him Lou."

Mary shrugged. "So, I've decided to call him Lou. I don't think it's that big of a deal." she said. "And nothing's happened between the two of us. Nothing's changed."

Rhoda smiled and shook her head. "No, something has definitely changed." she told her. "The two of you seem...comfortable married. You know your body language says a lot about you."

"Body language?" Mary arched an eyebrow. "We're not doing anything differently."

"Where were the two of you off to when I called?"

"Dinner." she replied. "Then a movie, maybe."

"Dinner and a movie?" she questioned. "All dressed up?"

"So."

Rhoda looked the red dress over. "And a new dress at that." she said. "Don't try to deny it, I was with you when you bought it."

Mary smiled. "I wasn't going to deny anything." she said. "What's wrong with getting dressed up to go to dinner?"

"Nothing." she replied. "Especially if you're going out with your husband."

"Oh, Rhoda." she sighed. "It's not like that and you know it"

"Do I?" she countered. "Because the two of you seem inseparable. Do you not want to tell me, is that it? Because we usually share pretty much everything with each other."

"There's nothing to tell." she insisted, her hand reaching for the doorknob. "I don't know what you're seeing, but there's nothing between us."

"You know you never mentioned that he spent the night with you last night."

Mary stopped and turned back around to face her friend. "Because there's nothing to tell." she said. "I didn't want to be alone, I asked him to stay, and we went to sleep. That's all."

Rhoda gave up. "Okay." maybe Mary really didn't see what was happening. "I'm not about to argue with you over this."

"Thank you."

"You'll see that I'm right soon enough."

"Oh, Rhoda." she sighed, pushing the door open. "You're letting your imagination get the best of you."

As soon as they entered the room all eyes fell on Mary. Ted smiled a weak version of his anchorman smile. "Hello, Mrs. Grant." he laughed. "You know it's awfully sweet of the two of you to be here when you should be on your honeymoon."

Lou looked over at Mary. "You're the one who said we should be honest."

Mary made her way over to the bed. "Yeah, we should have lied."

Rhoda looked at Mary and Lou sympathetically. "I told you."

When Lou had told Ted that what he heard regarding his marriage to Mary was correct Murray thought that he was just appeasing Ted. That Lou was just going along with Ted's crazy antics to calm him down. After all the man just had a heart attack and major surgery. But now that didn't seem to be the case. Mary and Lou were being sincere with both their words and their looks.

Murray still couldn't believe it. "You mean the two of you really are married?" he asked. "You're not just putting Ted on?"

Mary shook her head. "No, it's true." she replied. "We were getting ready to meet with an attorney when you called and said Ted had a heart attack."

"Wow." he breathed out. "What happened?"

Lou looked over at him. "We got drunk and got married." he said. "Now we have to find a lawyer here and have it annulled."

Ted couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Well I didn't think it was true love." he snickered. "Getting Mary drunk is the only way she'd marry an old fool like you, Lou"

Ted's remark pierced Lou's ego, just a little, but enough to leave a mark. "Ted."

"Watch it, Ted." Rhoda said. "You're already in the hospital."

"Lou would never hit a man who just had heart surgery." he said. "See, I told you all that I was right. I told you they were married." he gloated. "You all thought I was crazy."

Mary moved closer Ted. "Well, the important thing is that you're going to be okay." she said. "You really gave us quite a scare."

"Yeah." Lou agreed. "You really need to concentrate on getting better."

Georgette sat down on the bed next to him. "No worries there." she said. "I'm going to nurse him back to health."

Ted reached for her hand. "I love you." he said. "Aren't I lucky to have such a loving and devoted woman by my side?"

Lou smiled. "Yeah, Ted." he breathed out. "You sure are."

"You know Lou I never thought that this would happen to me." Ted told him. "You and I are the same age, this could have just as easily have been you. Learn from me and start taking better care of yourself now."

He had never really thought about it like that. He and Ted were pretty close to the same age. And it could have just as easily have been him in that hospital bed. "I'll do that, Ted."

Mary looked back at Lou. His demeanor had shifted a bit. She smiled at him but didn't get a response. She turned her attention back to Ted, reaching out for his hand."Well we're going to get out of here so you can get some rest." she told him. "We'll come back and see you tomorrow afternoon."

Ted squeezed her hand. "Thanks, Mare." he smiled. "Sorry I interrupted your evening."

"Nonsense." she smiled back. "We're just glad you're okay." And when did everything become a we or an us? Strange. Mary walked over to where Rhoda was standing. "Do you want to join us for dinner?"

"Thanks." Rhoda said. "I'm going to stay here with Georgette for a while."

"I'll stay too." Murray said. "Why don't I go down to the cafeteria and see what our options are."

"Thanks, Murray." Georgette said. "I don't know what I would have done without you guys."

"Well, you'll never have to find out." Rhoda assured her. "We'll always be here for you."

"That's right." Mary agreed. "Call if you need anything."

"I will." Georgette said. "Thanks again, Mary."

Mary looked around the room, but Lou was gone. She said a quick goodbye and left the room. Lou was waiting outside the door, leaned up against the wall. "There you are." she said. "I thought I lost you."

"I'm just waiting."

"You seem a little down." she said, her eyes lingering over him. Something was definitely wrong. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." he sighed. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I thought maybe a little of what Ted was saying got to you, that's all."

"Which part?" he asked. "About the heart attack or about being an old fool?"

Mary tilted her head. "Since when do you take anything Ted says to heart?"

"Since he almost died." Lou replied. "Since I realized it could have very well have been me in that hospital bed."

"But it's not." she said. "So let's go out to dinner and celebrate Ted's recovery."

"I don't know if I'm in the mood."

"I just took the tags off this dress." she told him, stepping closer to him. "We have to go out to dinner to celebrate."

Lou looked over her, a vision in red. "Are you sure you want to waste a fantastic dress like that one me?"

"I put it on to go out with you, didn't I?" she asked. "Don't listen to Ted, he's probably still a little out of it from the medication."

"Yeah, but he's right."

"No he's not." she disagreed, closing in the space between them. "In fact Ted couldn't be more wrong if he tried." she smoothed down the lapel of his jacket. "You're the farthest thing from old or a fool."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"No." she whispered, leaning in closer to him. "I'm saying it because it's true." Her lips met his delicately. A soft, gentle, reassuring kiss. Her lips lingered on his. Maybe a bit longer than she meant to. "Believe me now?"

"I believe that you feel sorry for me."

Mary arched an eyebrow. "Then I'm not doing this right." she moved in closer to him, his hands instinctively settling on her hips. "Let's try again." Her lips captured his in the softest, most tender kiss. His lips gave way to hers and she graciously accepted the invitation to deepen their kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck pulling him closer to her. Their mouths collided together in perfect sync, igniting the spark that had been lingering between them for days.

After several long moments their lips finally parted. "What if I said I still don't believe you?" he asked.

"I would say you were lying." she smiled as she pulled back to look at him. "Come on, I was promised dinner and a movie."

His hands lingered over the curve of her hips. "It really would be a shame to let that dress go to waste."

tbc...

Feedback is welcomed and appreciated :) Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Waking Up in Vegas

Chapter: 7

Rating: PG

The evening had started off innocent enough. They left the hospital in high spirits. Ted was awake and on his way to recovery. Mary had cheered Lou up when Ted's words hit a little too close to home. And they had shared on hell of a kiss. The kind of kiss that was all consuming and knee buckling. The kind of kiss that made everything else that was going on disappear.

At La Bella's they were seated in a small, cozy corner complete the low lighting and soft music. The waitress had actually mistaken them for a couple who were celebrating their wedding anniversary. She had asked them how many years they had been married. They both laughed it off, replying that they were simple friends and nothing more. But by the time they had left the romantic ambiance of the restaurant they were starting to become aware that something was changing or rather had changed between them.

By the time they got to the movies they were both aware that their friendly outing and celebrating of Ted's road to recovery was more or less a date. Kisses and candlelight and holding hands as they entered the movie theater certainly qualified them as on a date. They both seemed to be relaxed and enjoying themselves though. It was all still unspoken, but sometimes words really didn't matter. And they both seemed comfortable.

It wasn't until they arrived back at Mary's apartment that whatever shifted between them was starting to come to the forefront. Lou closed the door behind them, not sure of what his next move was going to be. He had a fantastic time with her and enjoyed every minute of the evening, but he knew that whatever was happening couldn't continue. And hell maybe she didn't want it to either. It was for the best.

Mary hung up her coat. "Would you like a drink?"

"No." he mumbled, deep in thought. "No, thank you."

She made her way down into the livingroom. "Are you sure?" she asked. "You seem a bit stressed."

Lou made his way down the steps and into the livingroom. He reached out for her hand. "Come here." he said. "I think we need to talk." they sat down on the sofa. "A lot has happened over the course of the past few days and we really haven't had a chance to deal with any of it."

"I think we were so wrapped up in Ted that everything else just became secondary." she said. "But you're right we do need to talk."

He took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "This is difficult for me." he confessed. "I'm not exactly sure where I need to start." he said more to himself than anyone. "I've really enjoyed these past few days with you. I think mostly because we were leaning on each other in a very trying time, but not that things are getting back to normal I've noticed that things have started to change. I feel like we've already crossed a few lines of friendship and I think it's important that we try not to cross anymore."

Mary was a bit surprised. When Rhoda had tried like hell to point out that their relationship had evolved Mary argued her down, basically telling her she was out of her mind. But after she had kissed him and after they had dinner, and after the movie she was finally able to understand what her friend was talking about. She also realized that she liked being with Lou. She could see herself with him in a way that she never could with most of the other men she had dated.

It hadn't been planned. Fate had kind of thrown them together and she rather liked the idea. The thought of exploring whatever it was between them, and there was something, felt right. "I see." she said, slowly. "I thought we were having a good time."

"We were." he immediately replied. "It's just that we're about to enter dangerous territory here and I'd rather stop it before it goes any further. I don't want to start something...I can't start something with you that I know isn't going to work out."

"What makes you think that?" she asked. "We haven't even given it a fair try."

"It's just not going to work out." he said. "We're much too different, we work together, and it's just...it's not possible." Lou was trying his very best to let her down as easily as he possibly could. He knew that he was hurting her, he knew that he was hurting them both. He was trying to listen to reason, to the voices in his head. He wasn't about to let his heart win this round, not when he knew in his head that it would never work. "We're in different places in our lives and entering into anything other than friendship would be a disaster."

Mary nodded. "I understand."

"You do?" he was hopeful that things could go back to the way they were. He was hopeful that everything was going to work out just fine. Because he wanted her, he did. More than he ever wanted anyone in his entire life. But there were so many reasons he couldn't be with her. Their working relationship, their friendship, they really were in different places in their lives, and their was a big age difference. Fourteen years to be exact.

"Yes, I understand perfectly." she said. "You've just gotten divorced and you're hurting. You think it's best to shut yourself off from feeling anything at all."

He was. It was absolutely true. And he was a coward for it. But if he told her how he really felt that they would both end up hurt in the end. It was better to stop things now while they hadn't gotten too far out of hand. "Among other things, yes." he breathed out. "But one day you'll thank me. Mr. Right will come along, you'll fall in love, and live happily ever after. You'll see."

Mary turned her head away from him. She wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of seeing the tears that were springing forth in her eyes. She knew that he felt the same way she did, she knew it. She could feel it in his touch, in the way he looked at her, and in his kiss back at the hospital. Of all the men she had kissed she had never been kissed quite like that. With such tenderness and sincerity. With overwhelming passion and such underlying desire.

"Mr. Right, huh?" she sighed. "If I even believed he existed before then I certainly don't now."

"Hey, look at me." he said. "Look at me." he titled her chin up so that he could see into her eyes. "I'm not doing this to hurt you. Really, I'm not."

She blinked back a few tears. "I know." she replied. "I don't know why you're doing it, but I know you would never intentionally hurt me."

"I wouldn't." he wiped away her fallen tears. "I promise you that. I just don't think it's a good idea for you and me to get involved."

"If that's what you think is best." she told him. "I may not agree with your decision, but I respect it. I just thought that we felt the same way."

"It's not about what I feel for you." he said. "It's about the fact that we're just not compatible. I've been married, I've raised my family, I've done with white picket fence stuff."

Mary nodded. "So this is about age."

"It's not just about age." he replied. "But age is a factor. I'm fourteen years older than you are. That's a big age gap, Mary."

"This is about age." she repeated. "It doesn't bother me, but if it bothers you enough that you're not willing to explore this then okay. We'll just try and go back to the way things were."

"I don't want things to be awkward between us."

"I think it's a little too late for that." she replied. "And not because of tonight but because of everything that's happened before this conversation took place. I didn't really see it before but looking back on the past few days I realize that something has changed."

"I know it has." Lou agreed. "But I can't give you what you want, Mary." he said, softly. "I really, really wish I could. I don't want to hurt you anymore than I already have."

"I'm not the only one you're hurting."

"I know." he replied. "But I would rather it hurt a little now than a whole lot later."

Mary simply nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry, Mary." he gently cupped her face in his hands. "I really am." he leaned in and softly kissed her lips. Every reason he gave her for not wanting to get involved with her seemed to be erased the moment his lips touched hers.

She pulled back and moved his hands away from her face. "I think you should probably go, Lou."

"I know I should." he said. "I'm just having a very hard time convincing myself right now that it's the right thing to do."

tbc...

Thanks for reading! I really appreciate the feedback!


	8. Chapter 8

Waking Up in Vegas

Chapter: 8

Rating: PG

For five weeks now Lou Grant and Mary Richards had been husband and wife. And for four and a half weeks they had walked on eggshells. They were getting very good at avoiding each other even when their work areas were only twelve feet apart. They managed to work together when absolutely necessary, going over the budget and the production schedule. But other than that they went through Murray or other newsroom staff.

Their annulment was almost completed. Leaving them both hoping that things would soon return to normal. Whatever normal was going to be for them. They hadn't had a real conversation since the night he left her apartment. And even though they couldn't really classify their three days together as a relationship they were both grieving over the loss. It was almost as if they had been married for years and were facing a sad divorce rather than a drunken marriage and an annulment.

After Mary's initial breakdown to Rhoda the weeks that followed hadn't been any easier. She did her very best to swallow both her pain and her pride and move on. But the loss she felt was still great. She hadn't only lost a potential love but a friendship as well. And she knew it was going to take some time to get through it. At least that's what everyone kept telling her. Even Ted, who was fully recovered and would be returning to work next week.

It was Friday evening and it was starting to snow. Again. But this time there was suppose to be a snow storm moving in on them. The biggest one that Minneapolis had seen in ten years. Everyone seemed to shrug it off though because it was too often that the weatherman was wrong. Mary gathered her things and headed for the elevator. She wanted to get out of the newsroom before Lou came out of his office.

The snowfall had started to pick up on her drive home. And by the time she got there it was coming down rather steadily. Phyllis had stopped her on her way in and told her that Lars had stacked firewood in the hallway outside her door. It was just incase the power went out. Or the heat, because that seemed to happen every now and again. Mary had a quick dinner and settled down in front of the television for an evening movie.

There was a soft knock at her door and she was surprised to find Lou standing on the other side. All the dancing around each other they had been doing had just come to an end. And neither one of them seemed to be prepared for it. "You want to come in?"

"Yeah." he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "I have the annulment papers." he handed them to her. "I thought that I would bring them over before I headed home."

Mary looked at the papers. "I'll sign them and you can be on your way." she headed for the desk. "When will it be finalized?"

"About a week."

Mary didn't even bother to sit down at the desk. She just laid it on top and grabbed a pen out of the drawer. The lights flickered. "Great." she mumbled.

"That happen a lot?"

"Yeah, especially in the winter." she replied. "It's an old house." she signed her full name and then printed it underneath. She placed the pen back in the drawer and picked up the papers. "Here you are." she handed them back to him. "Thanks for bringing them by."

"You're welcome." the tension between them was almost unbearable and he wanted to fix it, but he didn't know how to take the first step. "I'll have Marvin call you when everything is finalized."

The lights flickered again. "Thank you, I'd appreciate it."

A few more flickers and they were left completely in the dark. The bright moonlight was the only thing that gave off any light. "Do you have a flashlight?" he asked.

Mary crossed the darkened room. "There's one in the kitchen." she opened the drawer and took it out. "But the batteries are dead."

He made his way over to the kitchen. "How about some candles?"

Mary struck a match and lit the candle that was sitting on the stove. "There are more in the closet."

"I'll get them."

"It's the white box on the top shelf." she told him. "It's kind of heavy."

Lou walked over to the closet and got the box down she was talking about. He brought it back over to her and sat it on the breakfast bar. "Good thing you're prepared." he removed a candle from the box. "You want me to start a fire in the wood stove?"

"Please." she replied. "With all the wind and snow it'll get cold in here pretty quickly."

He took off his coat and threw it over one of the kitchen chairs. "Yeah, I didn't realize how bad it was until I left the office." he said. "I'll get the fire going and then I'll get out of here."

Mary was busy light a few candles, the room getting brighter with each flame. "Don't be ridiculous." she breathed out. "You can't go back out in the storm. Like it or not you're stuck here."

"I can manage." he assured her. "I've been through worse storms than this."

"Lou, I don't want you out there in this weather." her voice was firm and even. "I'm sure we can manage to co-exist for a while."

He got a few pieces of firewood from the hallway and closed the door. "I don't want to invade."

Mary came out of the kitchen with a few candles and headed for the coffee table."You're not invading." she assured him. "We don't even have to talk if that's what you're afraid of."

"I never said that." he told her. "I mean we should be able to talk to each other. We're friends, right?"

She looked over at where he was kneeling in front of the wood stove. "Are we friends?"

"I thought we were." he turned slightly to look at her in the dimly lit room. "Or at least we use to be before everything got messed up. I just wish things could go back to the way they were."

She sat down on the sofa and started to light the candles. "I don't think that's going to happen." she said. "Too much has happened and you don't want to deal with it."

"It's not that I don't want to deal with it..."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know." he closed the door on the stove. "But I hate the way things have been between us this past month. Above everything else you and I were friends. Really good friends."

"And now we're nothing."

"We're not nothing." he said, getting onto his feet. "We're just figuring things out that's all."

"We've been avoiding each other." she said, flat out. "And I don't know about you but I can't ever remember being this unhappy."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too." she replied. "Let's just drop the whole conversation. Can I get you a drink?"

Lou shook his head. "Drinking with you is what got us into this mess."

"Hot cocoa?"

"Only if you have marshmallows."

"I'm sure I do."

Mary made her way into the kitchen. She filled the teapot and sat it on top of the wood stove. The next ten minutes or so they lingered in silence. Each of them too afraid to say anything to the other. It was definitely going to be a long evening. Under better circumstances the setting would be romantic, but under the current circumstances it was nothing but awkward.

She handed him the mug of cocoa. "Careful, it's hot."

"Thanks." he top a sip. "Are you warm enough?"

"Fine, thanks." she sat down on the sofa with her mug of cocoa. "Rhoda picked the perfect week to visit her parents in New York. I knew I should have went with her."

"And miss all this fun?"

Mary half laughed, half sighed. "Yeah."

Lou looked over at the annulment papers laying on the end of the coffee table. "So the T stands for Tyler, huh?"

She took a drink and sat her mug down on the table. "What?"

"Your middle name." he clarified. "Mary Tyler Richards."

"Yeah." she replied. "It was my mother's maiden name."

"I thought it was kinda strange for a girl." he kind of smiled. "Cute though, Mary Tyler."

"Only my grandmother is allowed to call me that." she smiled back. They seemed to be making some progress. A little of the tension was starting to lift. "Thanks for braving the weather to bring the papers over."

"I've had them for a few days now." he confessed. "I just couldn't bring myself to give them to you."

Now that was an intriguing statement."Why not?"

He shrugged. "I guess there was a part of me that didn't want to let you go." he sat his mug down on the table. "I thought that by signing those papers it would really sever everything that we had left. I, uh, I really made a mess out of things, Mary."

"How so?"

"I walked out on you when I wanted to stay." he got up off the chair and sat down next to her on the sofa. "I was being stupid and selfish and I guess I thought that you deserved better than me."

It was happening again. That gravitational pull toward each other. Things were so easy and natural between them if they just relaxed and stopped fight it. "I thought I made it perfectly clear that I wanted you." she said. "I was willing to explore whatever it was between us."

"I know, but you're young and beautiful." he said. "Why would you want to be tied down to someone like me?"

"Someone like you?" she questioned. "Someone kind and gentle and intelligent? Someone I respect and enjoy spending time with? Someone who makes me feel like I'm floating on a cloud?" she closed in the space between them. "You're strong and sensitive and incredibly sexy. How could I possibly not want you?"

Lou smiled. "Well when you put it like that." he said. "Who am I to argue?"

"Exactly."

"So what now?" he asked her. "What can I do to fix this? I would really like it if we could get back to where we were, you know before I was a complete idiot. Because I think you're right, whatever this is between us is definitely worth..."

Mary silenced him with a kiss. Her warm mouth covered his and all else was quickly forgotten. Nothing in the entire world had ever felt so right, so good. He wrapped his strong arms around her and she felt herself melting into him. It was as if everything was where it should be. They were completely lost in each other.

tbc...


	9. Chapter 9

Waking Up in Vegas

Chapter: 9

Rating: PG-13

The snow continued to fall in the distance giving the entire outside a white glow. The electric was still out, but the apartment was warm thanks to the wood stove. Mary and Lou were still engaging in a series of kisses that were leaving them both breathless and senseless. It was as though they were making up for lost time.

Lou was the first one to pull back, struggling to regain his composure. "I think we should slow down." he said. "I don't want to move too fast."

"Something tells me we're going to be here for a while."

His lips brushed against hers. "Then there's no reason to rush."

"Who knew that a small blizzard could be a good thing." she said. "You certainly have a way with timing."

"I don't think it's so much timing as it is fate." he said. "I'm really starting to believe that everything happens for a reason."

"Sensible, levelheaded, factual Lou Grant believes in fate?" she laughed. "My, my you have come a long way."

"I'm learning to be more open minded."

Mary leaned in to kiss him again. "I have to admit it is a rather romantic setting." she said. "You can't go wrong with candlelight and a warm fire."

"I don't think the setting is quite complete." he said. "We need to sit in front of the fire with a bottle of wine."

"You're just in luck because I happen to have a bottle."

"Why don't you grab the wine and a couple of glass." he suggested. "I'll set up a cozy place by the fire."

"You are a romantic." she smiled. "I knew I married you for a reason."

"And here I thought you married me for my charm."

"That too." she said, getting up and heading for the kitchen. "Among other things."

Lou picked up the rocking chair and sat it up on the landing. He put down some blankets and pillows on the floor in front of the fire. He had learnt a long time ago that romance wasn't something that could be planned out, but some staging sure didn't hurt. Mary returned from the kitchen with two glasses of wine.

She handed him a glass. "You work fast."

Lou took a sip of wine. "Well, I can be very efficient."

"I thought maybe you had something in mind." she said, sitting down beside him. "Because I was just told that we shouldn't rush, we should take our time."

"I meant we should take our time making love, not the pace of our relationship." he told her. "I don't think it's something that should be rushed, do you?"

"No, not at all." she took a sip of wine. "We're those your intentions?"

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Mary smiled. "I've missed you." she sat her glass of wine up on the bricks. "I didn't realize how much I had fallen for you until you weren't there. I mean I knew I liked you, I just wasn't sure how much." she joked.

"Fallen for me?" he smiled. "Head over heels? That kind of fallen for me?"

"Yes." she replied. "I would say that I'm probably head over heels in love with you."

He was absolutely captivated by her. "Just probably?"

"Well, I may be truly, madly, deeply, passionately in love with you,." she said. "But we'll have to wait and see."

"Depends, huh?" he sighed. "How do we test your theory?"

Mary leaned into him."Test it? You mean like this?" his lips parted slightly in anticipation and she used it to her advantage. Her tongue danced over his, engaging him in the most breathtakingly erotic kiss that seemed to go on forever. Ever so slowly she pulled back. "Oh, yeah, I'm truly, madly, deeply, passionately in love with you. No doubt about it."

"You do have it bad." he smiled. "In fact I would say almost as bad as me."

"Almost?" she leaned in to kiss him again but he pulled back. "What's wrong?"

"I want you, you have no idea how much." he put a little more distance between them. "I really think we need to talk first, I think we need to sort some more things out."

"You're right." she agreed. "I want us to do things right."

"So do I." he agreed. "I don't want there to be any unanswered questions between us. When I make love to you I want you to know how I feel about you. I don't want you to ever doubt how much I love you because I've never felt this way about anyone in my entire life."

"I know that you were scared before." she said. "I just really wish you would have talked to me about it instead of pushing me away. You now I've never felt this way about anyone either. That's why I think it's important that we're really open and honest with each other."

"I think so too, I think what we have is rare." he agreed. "Some people look for what we have their entire lives and never find it. I guess the thought of losing you scared me more than being with you. I felt worse this last month without you than I did during my divorce. And I realize that everything isn't always going to be sunshine and roses, but it's always going to be worth fighting for."

Mary smiled. "You have no idea how happy I am." she said. "I know that the past month has been difficult but I really think it made us realize what we have."

"You were worth the wait." he pulled her closer to him. "You'll always be worth the wait."

"I love how you know all the right things to say." she said. "How did I ever get so lucky?"

"Excellent taste, I suppose." he replied. "Especially in husbands."

"You know I rather like being Mrs. Lou Grant."

Lou smiled. "Well, I think we can work something out."

"You think so?" she questioned with a smile.

His mouth covered hers with great promise of passion. "Oh, I know so."

The space between them disappeared. His clothed body was hot against hers. And as he pressed himself against her it became even hotter still. They were suffocating in a sea of lusting misery, of agonizing want, and desperate need.

Their mouths danced together rather slowly at first and then as time passed the kiss grew more and more heated. Mouths openings wider, nipping of the lips, and then the inevitable loss of air that left them practically panting. Clothes were shed ever so slowly, taking their time just as he had promised her.

Her mouth plundered his sweetly, savagely, and seductively. Their lovemaking would no doubt be a passionate union, but how passionate they had no idea. Their mouths collided together teasing and tasting and tangling as their bodies moved together in failing attempts to satisfy their insatiable needs. The echoed sound of passion filled the room, growing louder and louder until there was complete silence. Nothing was more beautiful than that moment.

The morning sun was slowly making its way in through the darkened apartment. The fire was beginning to burn out and a coolness started to fill the room. They were wrapped up in each other, just as they were when they had fallen asleep hours before. Lou reluctantly left her side and ventured into the hall for more firewood. He tossed a few pieces into the stove and settled back down beside her.

Mary began to stir and Lou pulled her closer to him. "Cold?"

"Not anymore." she laid her head on his chest. "Are we out of firewood?"

"Almost." he said. "We may have to come up with other methods to stay warm."

She shifted in his arms, looking up at him. "Now that you mention it, it is getting pretty chilly in here."

Lou leaned down and gently kissed her. "I guess we'll just have to start breaking the furniture down and start burning it to stay warm."

"Yeah?" she asked. "Well my idea was much more fun than that."

"Really? Does it go something like this?" he kissed her again.

"It certainly starts that way."

"I think I like your idea better." he said, rolling her over onto her back and covering her body was his own. His mouth covered hers. "I hope you don't mind if I improvise a bit."

"Not at all." she wrapped her arms around his neck and in the process her elbow bumped the coffee table sending the annulment papers flying to the ground. "Well I think I know the first thing you can burn."

Lou pushed the papers out of the way with his hand. "I'll get to those later." he said. "I think making love to my wife is much more important than burning scrap paper."

-Finished

Thanks for reading and please review! I hope you enjoyed the story. Feedback is and was appreciated! What would you like to read next? I'm open to ideas.


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